Internal squabbles in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is not new
but the ongoing open battle between CBI director Alok Verma and special
director Rakesh Asthana is the ugliest instance of infighting seen in the
agency.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is right: Rafale is a perception game in
an election year and the verbal acrobatics of BJP leaders since former French
president Hollande's revelation do suggest that this a game in which the
ruling alliance has been pushed on the defensive.

Sushma Swaraj's muscle-flexing in the Opposition will haunt the BJP leader as
the minister who is now being asked to lead the dialogue with Pakistan. Where
you stand in politics depends on where you sit, this is particularly true of
relations with Pakistan.

"Dissent is the safety valve of democracy; if dissent is not allowed, the
pressure cooker may burst': with those stirring words, the Supreme Court
expressed its concern today over the way the Maharashtra police had arrested
people on the plea that they had stirred Dalit violence and had links with
Maoists..."

"The manufactured controversy over Navjot Singh Sidhu's hug with the Pakistan
army chief is a classic example of just why India and Pakistan area trapped
in competitive hostility. If even a seemingly harmless gesture evokes such
anger and bitterness, it shows how easily we can become victims of paranoia
in the age of hyper nationalism..."